Planes, Trains, and
Most everyone knows that iconic movie with John Candy and Steve Martin. If it were filmed in the Far North, it would be more like planes, boats, and snow machines! Up here transportation is more of a struggle than anything Neil Page
had to contend with. With 663,300 square miles of land, there is under 5,000 miles of paved road throughout Alaska. Most of the villages SEND North serves are off the road system entirely. However, roads are not the only way to get around this beautiful state. Our team members and rural community members commonly travel by way of plane, snow machine, boat, four-wheeler, or dog sled team.
Planes are a multipurpose tool used to bring people and groceries alike to villages. Many use personal planes for hunting and gathering, visiting family in another village, or flying into town for doctor’s appointments and the like. At SEND North, we use our planes to transport team members in, out, and around the field. We also use our planes to transport materials for projects or relief efforts.
Many villages are located by a river for the sake of subsistence hunting and gathering. This opens up the availability to use nature’s road systems, the rivers, to travel between villages. Boats are a valuable asset for individual travel, but rivers open shipping lanes for valuable cargo. Barges can go up the river or come in by way of a bay or inlet, to bring everything from fuel, furniture, groceries, and automobiles. The barges are only able to visit the villages they service one to three times a year in the summer because the rivers and bays will freeze.
When the rivers freeze in the winter, they turn into a winter roadway. Many folks follow this same routes but this time using snow machine or dog sled team. Snow machining and sledding are common ways to get around the state in the winter (and spring), but can often be dangerous with seasonal storms and no set trails. This is why most travelers will follow the river if one is in the area.
Life in the Far North does not mean having everything within a 20-minute drive radius. However, other modes of transportation offer a chance to experience the greatness of the terrain that humbles even the most experienced pilot or driver. It takes dogged determination and creativity at times to get where one needs to go. However, the payoff is more than worth it, because we want to see everyone make it home to their Father!
Please Join us in praying for safe travels for our SEND pilots and our members as they visit surrounding villages to share the Gospel.
Additional Posts
Choosing a Missions Organization: Why SEND International Stands Out “Why should I be a missionary through SEND International?” Jenna, a new missionary in Eastern Europe, shared with us what she appreciates about working with SEND. The highlights for her are: - Devotion to prayer - Diligence in communication - Commitment to development - Intentionality in accountability Prayer “Back in September of 2022, the Lord reconnected me with SEND after I had met them a year prior at the Moody Bible Institute. However, before he would sign me up for anything, my Missions Coach encouraged me to pray. He said something to the effect of, "I know that you've been praying on your own for a long time. But as the Church, we are not called to walk alone. So, you and I won't talk for about a month unless you have questions. I want you to go pray with 5 or 6 others from your church about where God is calling you." That October, more than 10 friends prayed with me and we saw God answer as He directed me to Romania. From February 2024 to November 2025, I had the pleasure of being a part of team meetings in Romania with my SEND colleagues. Our meetings were four hours long, two for prayer and two for business. This has been the minimum for our team. There are also prayer meetings with the local churches we partner with, among smaller groups within our team, of course prayer with many of you across the pond, including those at our US office. The organization was built, has been sustained, and continues to run on prayer. This is my favorite thing about SEND. Communication As I mentioned above, we have a two hour block for business / ministry details in each of our meetings. This provides consistency across our team which works alongside three different churches and in a variety of ministries. It also helps us to communicate about the need for change or growth, alongside what is working well. In addition, my team director also meets with each of us, allowing us to communicate needs, considerations, and prayer requests. I've also enjoyed getting to work with SEND workers outside of my immediate region . We receive emails with the minutes from the Europe leadership team, Friday communications from our international director, and information regarding projects that affect our work among the unreached. In December of 2024, our international director at the time wrote a note to my parents for the first Christmas that I was gone. If nothing else had convinced my mom yet, this did. He took the time to care for me, but also to care well for the parents that were sending me (What it meant to my dad and mom for him to do this well has been one of the greatest ways I've been supported.). I also have some pretty wonderful regional directors. These people have prayed alongside us (while also serving in their own countries of service), they have taken time to come visit and encourage our team, and they have also taken the time to encourage the people in our churches. Development SEND has provided much in the area of development and care (spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally). At our regional conference (every three years), there have been medical check ups available, counseling options, and time for connecting with others on the field with similar experience. At our conference last October, I connected with a missionary who served overseas for many years, and is now serving on the administrative side of SEND. She has met with me since then for mentorship and has also invested much of her time recently in preparing a retreat for the singles across Europe. Accountability Over the years I have read and heard amazing stories of how God has worked through missionaries. God has done great things and great things He is still doing! However, people who have committed their lives to the Lord in this way are not “super Christians”. We are still humans with the same struggle against flesh that others have . A major challenge is in being isolated -- living in areas with little to no presence of other believers to sharpen them can cause many difficulties. SEND has been a great resource in this area too. Through my team, I have an accountability partner that I meet with monthly. When my regional director came to visit, he and his wife spent a day with me and asked intentional questions about how I lead, handle conflict, and how I am growing in general as a Christian. In addition, my teammates share their wisdom with me on a regular basis. These things and more have assured me that SEND International is a highly valuable organization and I'm excited to partner with them in service to, for, and with our great God! Interested in being sent by SEND?
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